It's been just over 20 years since Patrick Ewing last graced the National Basketball Association court to end his Hall of Fame playing career. Now, Ewing, the 2-year-old colt, is growing into a rising star within the sport of Thoroughbred racing.
A son of Horse of the Year Knicks Go , who was not actually named for the New York Knicks basketball franchise for which Ewing played most of his career, the equine Ewing improved his record to 2-for-2 with a win in the Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 2.
Overcoming a tardy start, the colt rushed up inside of horses to take command by the time they completed the opening quarter-mile and still had gas in the tank to repel Sanford Stakes (G3) winner Obliteration by a length while being 13 lengths clear of third.
READ: Ewing Turns Saratoga Special Into Slam Dunk
"We've seen many good horses, after a start like his, not be able to overcome it," dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said Aug. 3. "He learned that, which is good. It's always nice to learn something."
His ability to learn comes courtesy of a great mind that has been praised since he was born.
Ewing was bred in Kentucky by John Gardiner, an Irishman from Dublin who has called Manhattan, N.Y., home for nearly four decades.
"I say to anybody who will listen to me in America that horse racing is not just the front page of the sports pages in Ireland, it's the front page of the newspaper," Gardiner said about how his interest in racing began. "It's just part of your DNA."
That interest turned into direct involvement as a breeder thanks to his connection with fellow Irishman Frank McEntee. The pair then teamed up with Hidden Brook Farm.
"When you're a small breeder and you only have a couple of horses, you need some consultants," Gardiner said of his relationship with Hidden Brook. "They made it quite easy. They ask me, if they sourced something, whether I'm interested. I look at the pedigree and tell them whether I'm interested or not."
One of those mares Hidden Brook identified was Sassy Ali Joy, an unraced Indian Charlie mare they purchased for $60,000 in foal to Collected at the 2021 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
Her only foal to earn black type to that point had been her 2018 Street Boss filly, Tuscan Queen, who was third in the 2021 Christiecat Stakes at Belmont Park. However, the Hidden Brook team saw potential in the mare and, as Gardiner began analyzing potential matings in consultation with Hidden Brook, landed on Taylor Made Stallions' recent acquisition: champion Knicks Go.
"He nicked very well with Sassy Ali Joy," Gardiner said. "It just happens to be that I loved Knicks Go as a racehorse."
The Saratoga Special showed several similarities between the colt and his sire, who stood the 2025 season for a $12,500 fee, displaying Knicks Go's patented frontrunning style as he became the sire's first stakes winner.
"I think he may be like his dad, he goes and just keeps going," Casse said. "He's a beautiful moving horse, which is going to help him. He's got a good mind. I'm very optimistic."
All those traits have been on display since his time at Hidden Brook. Born and raised on their farm near Paris, Ky., he was a $37,000 RNA at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he was sent down to Hidden Brook's training center in Ocala, Fla., to prepare for the 2-year-old sales.
"We really liked him at the yearling sale and were shocked that he didn't sell," said Hidden Brook partner Mark Roberts. "When we started breaking him, it was like, 'Okay, he's a good horse.' I only worked him once every few weeks because he was just too fast. A horse like that, you kind of stay out of their way. My biggest concern was messing him up."
The 2-year-old market provided a new opportunity for Hidden Brook as Ewing's speed became evident. That quickness is what Roberts says the Hidden Brook team always needs to look for in the horses they bring to sell.
"Everybody is looking for an athlete, but I think they have to be quick to go to a 2-year-old sale," Roberts said. "When you're buying them, you look at them and think, 'Does this horse look quick?' You've got to buy that certain type that looks quick, and that doesn't mean they're not scopey, but it all comes from the back end."
Ewing was a perfect fit for that mold of a good sales horse, and it showed when the Hidden Brook-consigned colt brought $585,000 from D. J. Stable and West Point Thoroughbreds, who partner in ownership with Kenneth Freirich, at the Ocala Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
"We always liked him physically. He was a beautiful horse, well balanced," Roberts said. "Had a great, nice way of walking and moving, just very fluid and smooth. He was a great-minded horse, never turned a hair."
Less than four months later, the colt is now one of racing's budding stars, a quick return on investment for his new owners and a good advertisement for the Hidden Brook 2-year-old training program.
"When you have horses who go out and perform like that, I think it's good for your business," Roberts said. "It just shows people that you turn out a good product, particularly when they can come out and go right from the sale to perform."
Saturday was a big day for Gardiner as well. In addition to Ewing winning the Saratoga Special, he also had bred Woodbine's Sweet Briar Too Stakes runner-up Ready to Jam, who is also trained by Casse for Gary Barber and D. J. Stable.
"It's a highly unusual day to have two horses that I bred in stakes action alone," Gardiner said. "I thought I was going to carry the double, but we lost by a length."
Gardiner's broodmare band currently consists of two after the death of Sassy Ali Joy about eight months ago. He also has four other mares in partnership.
Yet, with those small numbers, he could potentially find himself on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail soon, as Casse said Sunday morning that the Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs Sept. 13 is a potential landing spot on the path to the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar Oct. 31.
"I can't believe it frankly," Gardiner said. "To have a horse in the Derby conversation would be amazing. I got into this a long time ago with Frank McEntee, and you become an overnight sensation after 20 years. It's a long road, but you have to be incredibly lucky if you're doing what I do with a couple of horses."
The Derby is still far off, and Ewing will have to continue to prove his potential over distances much further than the 6 1/2 furlongs he saw Saturday. But if he's anything like his sire, it won't be a problem.
"He can do anything, I think he can go as far as you want him to go," Roberts said. "I think his pedigree says he'll go the distance. He's easy on himself. Hopefully, touch wood, he should be around for a while because he is so easy on himself. His action, there's just no wasted motion."
